Tortured Embrace Read online

  He snorted. “No, my love.” He jerked awkwardly when he tried to move closer to her. Now this was torture. Not being able to hold her when she was so close was agony. “The only first aid I’ll need tomorrow is a massage.”

  Her face fell even more. “You’re trying to make me laugh.”

  Smirking, he said, “Well, now my pride hurts. I can’t even make my future wife laugh?”

  Wide brown eyes met his. “What did you say?”

  Gripping her hands tightly in his, he said, “This isn’t how I pictured it, but now is as good a time as any.” Flushing, he thought of the times he’d imagined bending on one knee professing his love for her with a diamond in hand.

  He didn’t know why he’d blurted it out this way, but he’d wasted enough time trying to stay away from her. Now that they were together, he didn’t want to waste a single moment. “Will you?” he asked, gently, peeking up at her in his crouched position. “Will you make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?”

  In answer, her mouth claimed his in a fierce kiss. As she pulled away, she ran her fingers through his hair, brushing the strands away from his face. “You know I will,” she said, sweetly.

  Melting underneath her touch, he felt the shudders run through his body and knew he was about to phase. Their eyes shifted in unison, Serena’s burning a bright gold as she stepped back. “You should go,” he said.

  Shaking her head, she said, “I’m not leaving you.”

  He tensed. Adam was right. The minute he changed he wasn’t going to fit in these holes. If he really wanted to, he could try and break free, but there was no way he was going to do it. He’d take the pain, but he didn’t want her to see him struggle. “Please, Serena. Go run.”

  His body stretched, his neck contorting within the boards as the wolf fought to be released. Serena stripped down before him, and he watched with searing eyes as his girl phased into a magnificent wolf girl, rising up in the air with grace and fluidity. The hairs over her skin sprouted and grew, quickly and elegantly as if she’d rehearsed how to phase with dignity over the years. Covered in brown fur, she was still small for their kind, but magnificent, nonetheless.

  As his wrists snapped, engorging between the boards, he felt the splinters at his neck and the wretched choking at his throat. Growling, he fought with his wolf side to stay still, but it was useless. His body could only thrash under the pain and resistance. The wood squeezed the hell out of him, piercing through the fur, right down to his skin.

  Standing before him, he felt Serena’s need to free him, but he stayed her with a sharp glance. Grunting, he begged her to run away from him.

  Whining, she crouched on all fours and kicked up the dirt at her feet, reluctant to leave.

  Just then, the hushed night was broken by a series of howls. They froze, ears pricked, as they listened to first one, then two, no four. Oh wow, he heard eight Weres howling in the night. They were joined by several more, until the woods was filled with the earsplitting song of his pack’s call.

  His eyes landed on his alpha far off at the edge of the clearing, his wolf form standing just beneath the full moon. He turned this way and that, listening to the call of the Blacktails. It was howl of respect, of admiration for Jason’s willingness to defy his master for the love of his life. His heart slammed in his chest, not for the pain, but for his pack’s support.

  Serena carefully moved toward him, nudging her snout gently over his, circling him in a sweet caress. Despite the pain, he felt her calming him, soothing. Then, with pure devotion in her heart, she ran to meet her pack and join them in their arduous salute to him.

  When she was out of sight, he turned to Adam, who stared through yellow focused eyes. And miraculously, the Blacktail alpha crouched low to the ground, his front claws digging in the earth, bent his head back and howled at the moon for his beta, his friend.

  With renewed strength, Jason stilled, welcoming the pain, knowing without a doubt he’d endure anything for not just Serena, but for every one of the Blacktails.

  ****

  Jason opened his eyes to a brightening sky. Somehow, when his body could no longer take the choking and crushing sensation, he’d slipped into a kind of an wakeful sleep. As exhausted as he was, he couldn’t quite knock out under those conditions. Back in human form, he was now just uncomfortable. He’d been joking about the massage, but he could really use one right about now. Every muscle in his body ached, and he was drenched in sweat.

  He jerked when Adam came around him and unlocked the boards. His friend looked like he felt. The dark circles under his eyes matched the bruising around Jason’s wrists. In a scratchy voice, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  Standing up straight, he heard the cracks in his neck and back and moaned. It was difficult to stand, let alone keep his eyes open, but he smiled lazily at his alpha. “I’m good.”

  Evangeline teleported right next to them, Serena running into the clearing at the same time, a white towel wrapped around her. Evangeline handed him a bottle of water, her worried eyes looking him over.

  Stepping off the platform, he reached for the towel she held out for him and wrapped it around his waist. “No, Eva,” he said, sternly.

  “I didn’t say anything,” she said, innocently.

  Jason took a swig from the bottle then capped it. “I know what you want to do, and you can forget it. I’ll heal in no time.”

  Biting her bottom lip she looked to her sullen mate. How much this night had affected him was written all over Adam’s face, and she was wise to let her anger drop. Instead, Evangeline quietly stepped to him and held his hand in hers.

  “Will you guys lighten up? I feel like I’m at my own funeral,” he said, reaching for Serena and holding her tight to his side. He kissed the top of her head and tried to hide his unsteady gait as he led her through the trees and to the street.

  Jason insisted on taking Serena home to her place since she had no clothes at his apartment aside from the lovely black number she’d surprised him with and her coat. As he’d left his truck at home, Adam drove them in his SUV.

  Sitting in the back, Serena fussed with his cuts around his neck and wrists. He should’ve told her to stop, that he could take a few gashes here and there, but hell if he didn’t love the attention. Resting his head back, he smiled lazily at the little crease in her forehead.

  “Stop it,” she scolded, when he playfully bit her hand.

  He chuckled. “You’re fussing for nothing. I’ll be healed by tonight.

  “But you’re hurting now.”

  “I’m not. Really,” he murmured seductively, pulling her closer into his side.

  She glanced nervously at the back of her brother’s head. Adam hadn’t said a word since leaving the woods. He suspected his friend still struggled with the fact his beta and his sister were together, but Jason was through holding back. His soon-to-be wife and mate was in his arms, and there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it.

  I love you, he mouthed to her.

  Smiling, she responded in kind, all worry for the moment abated as she thrilled at his words.

  ****

  Leonardo Russo’s hand burned excruciatingly when, like an idiot, he’d used it to bang on the hotel room door. Cursing under his breath, he lifted the collar of his leather jacket to cover the marks and bruises on his skin as he scanned the hall he stood in. Down at the end, a mirror hung a bit lopsided and he caught his reflection. Damn.

  The man looking back at him looked nothing like the arrogant boy who’d been the Blue Demons’ best shooting guard at DePaul University on his way to begin his career in the corporate world. With exotic good looks and charm even his female professors couldn’t resist, he’d landed the hottest girl on campus and in a blink of an eye…it was gone. Just like that.

  Cassandra had found him and turned his world upside down, introducing him to a whole new one. He’ll admit, the orgies were pretty freaking amazing, but the past few weeks were pissing him off. He didn’t know how much
humiliation he could take.

  At first, being at the mercy of Cassandra and her sisters was a dream come true. Sure he’d been tortured a bit. It was the torture that excited him, but now? Things had certainly taken a turn for the worse. Every time he laid eyes on Cassandra now, the urge to wrap his hands around her throat was way too appealing.

  He looked away from his reflection. The pale, thinned out man looking back at him was not the Leo he used to be. What had become of him? Why was he still under her spell? He knew he must be because otherwise he wouldn’t be doing what he was doing right now.

  The power Cassandra had over him was so insurmountable that the thought of leaving this hotel and driving as far away from the witch as possible gave him a blinding headache. No matter what he thought, no matter how he felt, he couldn’t leave her. Never would. He would die her slave, and the thought sickened him.

  The door opened, and an old man answered rubbing his eyes in a white undershirt and flannel pajama pants. Speaking in a gruff voice having been woken up by Leo’s knocking, he said, “Can I help you, son?”

  Leo’s hand shot out, seizing him around the neck. Kevin Goode shouted in pain, gripping Leo’s hand, trying to fight him off. “Why, yes you can,” Leo responded, uttering the incantation rapidly under his breath. “Ah ah ah…Look at me, pops. That’s it.” Taking his hold off the man’s neck, he spoke fast. “Keep your eyes on me.” He knew the spell Cassandra had given him would work better on humans than it did with the Weres.

  “Looks like we have someone in common. How do you know Serena Perez and what do you want with her?” Leo had been monitoring the Blacktail pack for weeks. Wasn’t easy, so he’d had to enchant a few pack friends into giving him details. During his surveillance he’d spotted the old man lurking around the library she worked in, then again around her house. He thought the creep might be able to help him.

  His expression glazed, Kevin responded automatically. “I’m her father. I want to get to know her.”

  Leo’s brows shot up. No shit. He wondered if Cassandra knew they were making Nightwalkers with a half-breed’s blood. “Are you going to see her again?” he asked, already planning as he waited for a response. This might be easier than they’d hoped.

  “Yes. We’re going to have lunch today.”

  Smiling, Leo thought of the reward he’d receive for bringing back the werewolf. There was only the tiniest sense of remorse, but the spell he was under washed it away. With a gleam in his eyes, he asked, “Where?”

  ****

  Serena’s tongue glided over Jason’s skin in gentle laps as she attempted to heal the already mending wounds scattered about his neck. Tasting his hot skin was a feeling so new to her it didn’t seem real. She’d never healed someone before, never tasted a man the way she did now, but knowing it was Jason beneath her sent an incredible sense of pleasure straight to her belly.

  She felt the moment he awoke, his body tensing slightly, then stirring, heating up under her. The smell of his arousal wafted into her senses awakening her own body in ways only he could induce.

  “Don’t stop,” he murmured low.

  Peeking up at him, she saw his closed lids, his head tilted to the side giving her a lovely view of his sexy jaw. Continuing her ministrations with a bit more vigor, Serena ran her tongue down the length of his shoulder, journeying along his arm to his swollen wrist. She lapped at the faint scrapes, her own eyes lowering, thrilled at the power she felt.

  With a swipe of his arm, Jason tossed the sheet off his hips. Pausing, Serena watched in amazement as his golden member swelled before her. Growing tall and thick, the tip soft and smooth came to rest on his stomach. “Oh,” she uttered, completely enthralled.

  Letting out a light laugh, he asked, “Did I shock you, little one?”

  Her stomach tightened at the sound of his voice. He could so easily undo her with the simplest of words. “Just a bit.” Looking up at him, she saw him smirking seductively at her. “Feeling better?”

  “Hell yeah.” Moving over her, he flipped her onto her belly, his own mouth now exploring her skin at her back.

  “Ah Jason, no. I have to go soon,” she pleaded, not really wanting him to stop in the slightest. She felt his apprehension, but he didn’t move away, his soft kisses moving upward to the base of her neck.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he moaned, slowly rubbing his thick length at the juncture of her thighs, his silken lips sending shivers down her spine.

  Her mind so far from her lunch date, she murmured, “Mmmm?”

  “That’s what I thought,” he answered. His hand curved around her waist, sliding between her stomach and the mattress, traveling down to cup her sex. “You started this. You’re going to finish it.”

  Serena pressed her cheek further into the pillow, her eyelids lowering at the feel of his body against her. She felt his hard shaft poking at her back.

  Jason straddled her hips. “Close your legs,” he demanded.

  She complied, not sure what he was going to do. If she wasn’t mistaken, her legs would have to be open to accept him inside her.

  Lifting his hips slightly, he squeezed his manhood between her upper thighs and backside, impaling her from behind when he found her hot entrance.

  “Oh God, Jason,” she moaned, her cries slightly muffled from the pillow. Wet with need, he fit perfectly, filling her completely. His hand at her sex moved, his fingers finding her sensitive nub, rubbing enticingly as he slid in and out of her.

  “Do you like that, my love?” he whispered in her ear.

  Unable to speak, she nodded, her moans growing louder the closer she got to her release.

  “You feel so good this way, honey. Fuck, Serena.” His fingers circled her moist pearl faster, just the way she wanted. “Mmmm…Tell me you love me. Tell me, so I can come inside you.”

  Eyes closed, she smiled, loving how her mute lover became so talkative in the bedroom. “I love you, Jason. Ah…Come with me,” she moaned, breathlessly, unable to control the spasm running through her. Jerking beneath him, Serena rode the fiery sparks coursing through her body as Jason breathed heavily in her ear, pumping his seed into her.

  An hour later, they were dressed and saying their goodbyes at her door. Standing on the porch, Jason held her in his arms, looking down at her as he lectured her on being aware of her surroundings and going straight home after her lunch with Kevin.

  “I’ll be fine, Jason. Besides, Ram will be right outside the restaurant.”

  He still looked worried as he regarded her. “I’d go with you, but I need to meet with this contractor. I’ve been putting him off for too long.”

  She wondered how behind he’d gotten on his work because of her and felt slightly guilty.

  Shaking his head at her, he said, “Don’t you dare feel bad. Business is fine, and you’re more important.” His phone vibrated in his pocket and he rolled his eyes.

  Pulling back, he slipped his hand in his jean pocket and took out his phone. His brow furrowed the instant he read the text message.

  “I’ve got to go,” he stated firmly.

  She flinched.

  “I’m sorry, honey,” he kissed her quickly on the lips and let her go.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked, suspiciously.

  He took one step down the stairs, then hesitated, looking back at her. With an odd look on his face he said, “Text me Kevin’s number. I’m not sure Ramo’s gonna be able to go with you.”

  “Okay,” she said, taking out her phone, her eyes leveled on his face. “Jason, is everything…”

  “It’s fine. Just don’t go anywhere else. Meet Kevin and go straight home. Set the alarms as soon as you’re back.” With that, he reached forward to give her one last kiss, then raced down the stairs to his pickup, peeling off down the street.

  Serena watched him go, wondering if life with the beta would always be filled with exquisite joy and constant fear.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jason tossed his jac
ket on the seat as he alighted the pickup, leaving it in case he needed to phase. The meeting with the contractor all but forgotten when he’d received the text from Alex. Humans spotted a jackal by Milken Lake. Phasing and headin over with Nick. Adam had responded in the thread. All hands on deck. ETA 15 min.

  Jason was the last to arrive, choosing to position himself on the west bank of the lake as his pack members lurked along the perimeter on the north, east, and south. Scanning the area, he made out Nick’s wolf form just across the lake, moving slowly among the dense trees.

  As Milken Lake was only about twenty-two acres, there wasn’t much surrounding land to cover. Peering a moment into its depths, Jason noticed how shallow it was. Staying in his human form for the time being, he made his way along the still water, his senses on high alert.

  They all patrolled for a while, zigzagging from the edge of the lake and out. Jason trotted back toward the water after going a hundred yards out for the fourth time, spotting Adam doing the same in his wolf form on the south bank.

  Ramo made his way toward him from the north in human form, shirtless and barefoot. “Ran into the humans. A bunch of teenage kids high as shit said they saw the jackal on the northeast corner of the lake.” He pointed in the direction across the water where the trees thickened.

  “One of them ran to his car and drove off. They told me it was about the size of a jaguar, huge and long. Scared the crap out of them. The boy who ran called his dad. Dad just happened to be on our payroll. Called headquarters, and Alex picked up.” Ramo answered his unspoken question, giving him a sidelong glance. “Adam and Eva were in the woods…making up.”

  Jason was happy to hear his friend and Evangeline weren’t fighting over his punishment, but this lake was way too close to home. “Any sign of it?”

  Ramo shook his head peering around, his forehead furrowed. “Nada. Just an odd stench where the kids saw it.”

  “Could they have been mistaken?” Jason asked, his eyes still searching the surrounding area as well.